Barnyard (film)
Barnyard: The Original Party Animals is a computer-animated film, produced by Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Pictures, that was released on August 4, 2006. The film was directed by Steve Oedekerk, who was also the principal scriptwriter, and stars the voices of Kevin James, Courteney Cox Arquette, Sam Elliott, Danny Glover, Andie MacDowell and Wanda Sykes. Most of the production was carried out in San Clemente, California. It was distributed in Switzerland, Spain, and Netherlands by Universal Pictures. The film is the second Nickelodeon film to be spun-off into a TV series, the first being Jimmy Neutron. Coincidentally, both are computer-animated. Plot Otis (Kevin James) is a carefree cow (although he's a bull, the others just call him a cow because he strangely has utters) who prefers to goof off than accept responsibility. His father Ben (Sam Elliott) is the leader of the barnyard when the farmer is away, giving the animals the safest moment to spring up on two legs. After Otis interrupts a barnyard meeting with his wild antics, Ben has a talk with his son, in which he tells him that he will never be happy if he just goofs off, and that he should grow up. Otis ignores his advices and leaves to have fun with his friends: Pip the mouse (Jeff Garcia), Pig the pig (Tino Insana), Freddy the ferret (Cam Clarke), and Peck the rooster (Rob Paulsen). That same day, Otis meets a new cow, Daisy (Courtney Cox) (who is pregnant), accompanied by Bessy (Wanda Sykes), another female cow. That night the animals throw a massive party in the barn; all the animals are there except Ben, who watches over the fence, which marks their space. Otis is assigned his shift along with him, but he talks himself out of it, saying he is needed for a certain role in the party barn. Ben talks with Otis and says the day he found him alone in the meadow, the stars danced. Otis is given the privilege to party out, and the thankful son runs to the barn. Later on, Ben has to take on a pack of coyotes led by Dag, which is raiding the chicken coop. Ben manages to fight off the pack until he is bitten in the leg, causing him to fall. The coyotes pile on Ben, but he manages to grab Dag and escapes the pile. He threatens to punch Dag, but lets him go, scaring them off. The hens cheer, but Ben falls on the ground, exhausted. Etta the hen runs into the barn and tells Otis, and the alerted son runs outside to his father. Ben opens his mouth as if to say something, but dies. After Ben's death, all the animals elect Otis as the new leader of the Barnyard, presumably because he is a born party animal, A mule named Miles (Danny Glover) kicks the farmer because he saw the animals on two legs. He shirks his duties by leaving Freddy and Peck in charge of the coop, and helping three trouble-making cows in teaching a lesson to Snotty Boy who enjoys cow tipping. Later that night when Otis is sitting with Daisy, so Otis holds Daisy's hand wile looking up at the stars, he overhears the coyotes chasing a hare. Otis attempts to attack Dag but is outsmarted. Since Otis is weaker, Dag orders a deal that he and his pack will take animals here and there, and if he tries to stand up for all of them, they will kill everyone. Otis decides to leave the barnyard, realizing that he has no chance. The next morning, before leaving, Otis is informed that the coyotes took some hens and a chick. Otis figures that he has been backstabbed by Dag, as he was not expecting them until tonight, and sets off to rescue the poultry. Otis confronts the pack but is easily defeated; however Pip, Pig, Freddy, and Peck along with Miles the Mule arrive to help them, along with the gophers and Jersey Cows. Dag attempts to attack Otis from behind, but Otis is alerted when Peck successfully manages to crow a warning. Otis catches Dag and tells the coyote to never return. Dag is swung out of the junkyard by Otis's golf skills. Otis and the rest make it back to the barnyard, finding that Daisy went into labor. She gives birth to a calf whom she names Ben. Duke, the farmer's sheepdog, asks Otis if he wants to stay and be their leader. Otis agrees, and everyone cheers as he walks outside finding the stars dancing. The movie ends with Wild Mike dancing on top of Mrs. Beady's head when she gets ready for bed. Cast Kevin James as Otis the Cow David Koechner as Dag the Coyote Sam Elliott as Ben the Cow Courteney Cox as Daisy the Cow Jeff Garcia as Pip the Mouse Tino Insana as Pig the Pig Dom Irrera as Duke the Dog Cam Clarke as Freddy the Ferret Rob Paulsen as Peck the Rooster / Pizza Twin #1 / Wild Mike Danny Glover as Miles the Mule Wanda Sykes as Bessy the Cow S. Scott Bullock as Eddy the Jersey Cow Maurice LaMarche as Igg the Jersey Cow John DiMaggio as Bud the Jersey Cow / Officer O'Hanlon Lloyd Sherr as Everett the Dog Andie MacDowell as Etta the Hen Madeline Lovejoy as Maddy the Chick Earthquake as Root the Rooster Steve Oedekerk as Snotty Boy / Nathan Beady / Snotty Boy's Father / Pizza Twin #2 Maria Bamford as Mrs. Beady Jill Talley as Snotty Boy's Mother Laraine Newman as Snotty Boy's Friend #1 Katie Leigh as Snotty Boy's Friend #2 Fred Tatasciore as Farmer Buyer Frank Welker as Coyotes (uncredited) Soundtrack The soundtrack was released on August 9, 2006 from Paramount. It includes an original song by indie pop band the Starlight Mints, "You Gotta Move" by Aerosmith and a song by alternative rock band The Almost. Video game A Video Game by THQ and Blue Tongue Entertainment was created based on the film. It is an adventure game which you name your own male/female cow and walk around the Barnyard and Play Minigames, Pull Pranks on Humans, and Ride Bikes, plus Party Hard. The Game is for PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Wii, PC, and Game Boy Advance. Spin-off television series In September of 2007, a television series based on the film was released called Back at the Barnyard. Chris Hardwick replaced Kevin James in the role of Otis, and Daisy is replaced by a cow named Abby on the television series, voiced by Leigh-Allyn Baker. "Male cow" In the real world a male bovine is called a bull or a steer and does not have an udder. However, in this film several characters are "male cows" with an udder, while there is a character who is a bull. Steve Oedekirk, who directed the movie, told Nickelodeon Magazine (since closed) he did this for fun. This is, however, not the first time cattle have been portrayed in this way. In the United Kingdom, Boddingtons Bitter featured an animated "male cow" in some of its 1990s advertising, and recent computer animated adverts for Anchor butter portray two "male cows" as having udders. Also, the Dairylea adverts in the UK have male cows with udders. A more recent advert portrays that they really are male because they all have male voices.